Letter to the editor: Migrant workers are not villains

Friday

May 17, 2019 at 5:00 AM

I worked with high school students in two states for 20 years. Not one of them said they wanted to pick fruit for 10 hours a day, 6 days a week at $11.29 an hour.

The people who come here legally on an H-2A visa are hard-working folks trying to support their families. They make our food supply possible. We should be grateful to them and their sacrifices every time we go into the grocery store produce department.

Not only do they work hard for their earnings, but they leave their families and enter an environment that is strange and often hostile. It reminds me of our military who are deployed to foreign lands.

We should welcome these workers, show them respect and kindness, and thank them for their service. I commend the farm owners for trying to build decent clean accommodations for their workers.

I am concerned that, with 196 people in 50 rooms and limited bathrooms, it is a bit tight. There was no mention of laundry facilities or air-conditioning in the news article. This is no vacation resort these workers are coming to.

It sounds like the farm owners are being responsible in their planning. Homeowner concerns about declining property values seem unfounded.

Barbara Fox, Eustis

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